Vehicle-mounted implement



March 18, 1969 H. c. GLESMANN 3,432,949

VEHICLE-MOUNTED IMPLEMENT Filed March a, 1966 Sheet of 4 I J0 69 2f 33 Q2 59 w Z'n/nt'ar m1 g QQMWML M r 8, 1969 H. c. GLESMANN 3,432,949

VEHI OLE-MOUNTED IMPLEMENT Filed March a, 1966 Sheet 3 of 4 Sb I 1: i

M n 8, 1969 H. c. GLESMANN VEHICLE-MOUNTED IMPLEMENT Sheet Filed March 8, 1966 I: r\ +-r Sheet Filed March 8, 1966 United States Patent 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A quick detachable mounting for a ground working implement or snowplow wherein the vehicle has a supporting frame and the snowplow has a mounting frame with hook structure at the upper end thereof to interfit with the supporting frame at the top thereof and with locking means at the bottom of the frames to lock the frames together after elevation of the snowplow off the ground which permits the weight of the plow to swing it into final located position. A snowplow construction wherein the mounting provides a yieldable floating action of the plow relative to a supporting vehicle and with structure to apply additional pressure to the nose of the plow to force the plows front cutting edge beneath hard-pack snow.

This invention relates to a quick detachable mounting for a ground working implement or snowplow and to a mechanical linkage for a V-Snowplow to impart additional down pressure on the nose of the V-plow to break through hard-packed snow surfaces.

In the construction of V-plows for snow, it has been known to provide a lift linkage which provides a floating action of the plow relative to a supporting vehicle, such as a motor grader, and to have the plow elevatable parallel to the ground within the first few inches of lift as well as to have high maximum lift for backing out of deep drifts. An added feature is to have a provision for the nose of the V-plow to break through hard-packed snow surfaces. Such surfaces develop in the cold snow country because of traflic packing the snow, slight thawing of the snow, and from the compaction of the cutting edges of a plow and other road maintenance equipment. This hard-pack snow is very undesirable in that holes develop through the snow down to the pavement surfaces and cause traffic hazards. Conventional plows merely slide over the hard-pack snow.

It is an object of this invention to provide a mechanical linkage system for a Vplow in which additional pressure is developed at the nose of the plow to force the plows front cutting edge beneath the hard-pack snow and scrape off the road surface, rather than having the plow merely slide over it.

Another object of the invention is to provide a linkage system as defined in the preceding paragraph in which the plow is connected to a mounting frame through upper and lower lift arms with the upper lift arm being formed of two pivotally interconnected parts, with spring means normally maintaining the upper lift arm parts in slightly bent relation during normal plow operation and with means for moving the upper lift arm parts toward a straight line relation against the action of the first men tioned means to exert additional pressure on the nose of the plow.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a linkage system in which a rigid frame is secured to the rear of the plow, the spring means is connected between the rigid frame and the upper lift arms, and the power means in the form of a cylinder is connected between the mounting frame and the upper lift arm whereby the cylinder acting in one direction compresses the spring 3,432,949 Patented Mar. 18, 1969 and moves the upper lift arm toward the straight line disposition to exert pressure on the nose of the plow and the cylinder, acting in the opposite direction, causes lifting of the plow, through interconnections to said rigid frame.

Another object of the invention is to provide a quick detachable mounting for the plow or other ground working implement in which a supporting vehicle, such as a motor grader, mounts a supporting frame having supporting surfaces lying in two different planes and the implement has a mounting frame, with interengaging hook means on said frames brought into interengagement by vertical movement of the frames relative to each other as produced by power means mounted on the implement, and means for locking the frames releasably together with surfaces of said frames in abutting relation to provide a strong, rigid support for the mounting frame on the supporting frame.

Further objects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a rear perspective view of the V-plow and mounting frame and linkage structure associated therewith;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle, such as a motor grader, and particularly the front end thereof, showing a supporting frame providing part of the quick detachable mounting;

FIG. 3 is a vertical section through the plow and taken generally along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1 and with mounting structure when associated with a vehicle and the plow in normal plowing position;

FIG. 4 is a view, similar to FIG. 3, with the plow and with the cutting edge of the plow no longer parallel to the ground line;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view, taken generally along the line 5-5 in FIG. 3; and

FIG. 6 is a section, taken generally along the line 6-6 in FIG. 3.

While this invention is susceptible of embodiment in many different forms, there is shown in the drawings and will herein be described in detail an embodiment of the invention with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as an exemplification of the principles of the invention and is not intended to limit the invention to the embodiment illustrated. The scope of the invention will be pointed out in the appended claims.

The quick detachable coupling or mounting structure for an implement, such as a plow, indicated generally at 10', will first be described.

The quick detachable coupling permits advance of the vehicle, such as a motor grader indicated generally at 11, into a position adjacent the plow followed by a connection of the hydraulic lines, with resultant actuation of fluid power means on the plow frame to make the connection between the plow and vehicle with manual locking securing the parts for operation. A primary part of this coupling is provided by a supporting frame, indicated generally at 12, on the front of the grader, with this frame comprising a pair of upstanding side plates 13 and 14, positioned in spaced-apart relation and connected together by a transversely-extending bottom plate 15 and a top plate 16 which are welded to the side plates. The top plate 16 has an upturned flange 17 at the front thereof which spans the space between the side plates 13 and 14. The side plates 13 and 14 have L-shaped corners with inwardly turned flanges 13a and 14a, with the upturned flange 17 of the top plate disposed to the rear of and secured to these flanges, as seen in FIG. 5. The foregoing structure, which can be made of heavy stock and suitably held together,

as by welding, provides a supporting frame on which a mounting frame for the implement can be mounted.

The mounting frame, indicated generally at has a pair of vertical side plates 21 and 22, with each having a vertically-extending L-shaped member 23 and 24 extending inwardly toward each other and welded to the side plates. A lower cross brace 25 extends between the members 23 and 24 to connect together the lower parts of the plates. An upper brace member 26 extends between the vertical members 23 and 24 and along an edge is formed with a downturned hook 27 extending across a major part of the width of the mounting frame to engage over the tops of the turned-in flanges 13a and 14a of the supporting frame side plates. The side plates 21 and 22 of the mounting frame each have a downwardly opening hook member 30 and 31 aflixed thereto, respectively, which hook over the upper edges of side plates 13 and 14 of the mounting frame.

In connecting the frames together, the mounting frame 20 is at a suitable elevation off the ground as held by the hydraulic cylinders 95 and 96, as previously left from the last use of the plow, and the vehicle is then advanced toward the plow to place the mounting frame and, particularly, the side plate flanges 13a and 14a beneath the book 27 of the upper brace member 26 on the mounting frame. At this time, the hydraulic connections between the vehicle and power means on the plow are made to provide for lowering of the mounting frame to bring the hooks 27, 30 and 31 on the mounting frame down into firm engagement with the cooperating parts of the supporting frame. This also provides for a rigid interfitting of the frames in two planes by the L-shape relation of the parts of the two frames, as clearly seen in FIG. 5.

In order to secure the frames together for operation of the implement, locking means are provided at the lower ends of the frames, as shown particularly in FIG. 6. A pair of outwardly-opening cylinders and 41 on the supporting frame 12, each mount a projectable pin 42 and 43, respectively, which are spring-urged outwardly by the springs 44 and 45 within the cylinders. When the springs are free to operate, the pins 42 and 43 are projected outwardly into openings 46 in the side plates 21 and 22 of the mounting frame 20 to lock the frames together. The locking means are controlled by a handle 50 extending through the side plate 13 and pivotally connected at 51 to a lever 52 pivoted at 53 to the bottom plate 15 of the supporting frame which connects to an extension 54 of the pin 42. A link 55 connects to an extension 56 of the pin 43 whereby the position of the handle 50 controls the position of the locking pins 42 and 43. As shown in FIG. 6, the pins. are extended to lock the frames together and the pins can be retracted by outward movement of the handle 50 to a position where the fiat 58 on the handle can engage in the keyhole slot 59 in the side plate 13 to lock the handle in a position to hold the pins 42 and 43 retracted during relative movement between the mounting and supporting frames.

The mechanical linkage system for the V-plow is shown particularly in FIGS. 1, 3, 4 and 5 and is supported from the mounting frame 20.

The plow is supported by a pair of laterally-spaced lower push and lift arms 60 and 61 connected intermediate their ends by a transverse brace 62. These arms 60 and 61 are pivoted at one of their ends to the lower end of the mounting frame 20, as indicated at 63, and at their other ends are pivoted to the rear of the plow, as indicated at 64. An upper lift arm has a first part 65 on the center line of the nose of the plow and pivoted at one end 66 to the plow and at the other end to a cross member 67 by a pivot connection 68. The cross connection 67 extends between spaced parallel arms 69 and 70 forming a second part of the upper lift arm structure. These arms, at their rear, are each pivotally connected to pivot pins 71 and 72, respectively, mounted between the side plate members 21 and 23 and 22, 24 of the mounting frame 20.

The lower lift arms 60 and 61 and the upper arms, including the part 65, form two parts of a four bar linkage, with the mounting frame 20 forming a third part and the plow between the pivot connections 64 and 66 forming the fourth part. The upper lift arm structure is formed as two pivotally interconnected parts, with one part being the arm 65 and the other part being the arms 69 and 70. With the plow in normal plowing position, as shown in FIG. 3, the upper lift arm is in a bent, angular relation which results in the nose and cutting edge 81 of the plow being at, and parallel to, ground level as indicated by line 82. In this position, the plow is free to float against the action of a pair of compression springs 83 and 84 which surround links 85 and 86 which pass down through apertured ears 87 extending forwardly from a cross part 88 of a rigid frame secured to the plow. The cross part is supported by other parts 89, 90 and 91 of the rigid frame which are connected to the plow. When the plow moves upwardly from the position shown in FIG. 3, as caused by forces exerted on the cutting edge of the plow, the springs 83 and 84 are compressed by the rigid frame having the ears 87 moving upwardly along the links 85 and 86.

In order to exert down pressure on the nose 80 of the plow, with the result that the cutting edge 81 moves out of parallel relation with the ground, as shown in FIG. 4, power means are provided to move the upper lift arm structure substantially to straight line relation, as shown in FIG. 4. This action is caused by a pair of fluid cylinders 95 and 96 pivotally connected at one of their ends, as indicated at 97 in FIG. 4, to the mounting frame 20 and at their other ends having their respective piston rods 98 and 99 connected to pivot pins 100 and 101, respectively, extending between down-turned flanges of the upper arms 69 and 70 and rearwardly extending lugs 102 and 103 Welded to the rear of the crossbar 67.

When the cylinders 95 and 96 are operated to retract the piston rods 98 and 99, the arms 69 and 70 are moved toward a straight line relation with arm 65 of the upper lift arm structure against the springs 83 to exert down pressure on the nose of the plow 80 whereby weight can be transferred from the vehicle 11 to break up hardpack snow. As seen in FIG. 4, the compression action on the springs 83 and 84 results in lowering of the links 85 and 86 relative to the springs, as permitted by the separable ball and socket connection 105 for each of the links, which also permits swivel action of the links.

In addition to exerting down pressure on the nose of the plow, the cylinders 95 and 96 permit the intermediate position of FIG. 3 in which the plow can operate normally and, additionally, by extending the piston rods 98 and 99 with resultant lifting movement of the links 85 and 86 the rigid frame secured to the rear of the plow can be elevated to lift the plow above the ground. This action occurs by the links 85 and 86 lifting the lugs 87 on the frame. The relation between the mounting links is chosen so that the plow lifts parallel to the ground within the first few inches of lift so that the operator, if he chooses, need not remove all the snow under the plow, but only an upper layer. The linkage relation also permits a high maximum lift by higher raising of the nose 80 of the plow during the final lift stroke to facilitate backing out of drifts.

The operation of the cylinders 95 and 96 is provided through a pair of fluid lines and 111 which, through quick release couplings 140, connect with lines 112 on the vehicle 11. The line 110, through branch lines 114 and 115, communicates with the upper ends of the cylinders 95 and 96. The line 111, through branch lines 116 and 117, connects with the lower ends of the cylinders.

In operation of the structure disclosed herein and assuming the plow is connected to a vehicle, the first operation to provide separation is to pull and lock the handle 50, which removes the locking pins 42 and 43 to release the locking engagement between the supporting frame 12 and the mounting frame 20. Before separation of the hydraulic lines and after release of the locking pins the mounting frame is elevated by the actuation of the cylinders 95 and 96 to retract the piston rods which, with the plow supported by the ground, results in elevation of the mounting frame to release the hooks 2'7, 30' and 31 from the supporting frame. The hydraulic lines can then be separated through the quick disconnect couplings 140 which prevent hydraulic fluid escaping from the cylinders, and the plow can be left on the ground with the lift frame elevated, while the vehicle, such as a motor grader, is used to perform other operations.

When the plow is again to be used, the sequence just described is repeated in reverse order, with the vehicle brought to the plow with the mounting and supporting frames in alignment and the hydraulic lines coupled. The cylinders 95 and 96 can then be operated to extend the piston rods which, with the plow on the ground, results in lowering of the mounting frame to bring the hook means into engagement. The handle 50 is then operated to lock the locking means for the frames.

The normal plow operation is shown in FIG. 3 in which there is no down pressure exerted by the fluid cylinders and the upper lift arm structure is in a bent, angular position to permit plowing with the cutting edge 81 parallel to the ground surface and with the plow free to float upwardly against the compression springs 83 and 84. When the nose 80 of the plow is to cut into hard-pack snow, the cylinders 95 and 96 are actuated to fully retract the piston rods and straighten out the upper lift arm against the action of the springs 83 and 84 to, in effect, lengthen the upper lift arm structure and pitch the nose of the plow down, with pressure on the nose. The weight used for this is transferred from the front end of the vehicle 11. When it is desired to lift the plow, the cylinders 95 and 96 are operated from the vehicle to extend the rods 98 and 99, which lifts the plow, through the action on the links 85 and 86 and the rigid frame, including the crossbrace 88 secured to the rear of the plow.

I claim:

1. A mechanical linkage system for a V-plow to exert additional down pressure on the plow nose to break through hard packed snow comprising, a mounting frame attachable to a vehicle, upper and lower lift arms connected between the mounting frame and the plow, said upper lift arm being formed of two pivotally interconnected parts, spring means resiliently maintaining said upper lift arm in a bent relation in normal plowing, and power means for shifting said upper lift arm to a substantially straight disposition against said spring means to increase the effective length of said upper arm and pitch the plow nose downwardly with pressure on the nose.

2. A system as defined in claim 1 wherein said power means comprises a cylinder connected between the mounting frame and said upper lift arm, means for supplying fluid to one end of said cylinder to exert force against said spring means and alternatively to supply fluid to the other end of said cylinder to raise the plow relative to the mounting frame or lower the mounting frame relative to the plow.

3. A system as defined in claim 2 wherein a supporting vehicle has a supporting frame, interengaging hook means on said supporting frame and mounting frame, and said cylinder when actuated in one direction moves the hook means on said frames into engagement.

4. A mechanical linkage system as defined in claim 1 wherein a rigid frame is secured to the rear of the plow, said spring means extends between the rigid frame and the upper lift arm whereby the plow and rigid frame can float upwardly against the spring means, and a link in addition to the parts of the upper lift arm connected between the upper lift arm and the rigid frame, said power means being connected to said mounting frame and acting through said link to raise the rigid frame and plow when acting in one direction and when acting in an opposite direction moving said upper lift arm to a substantially straight disposition against said spring means.

5. A mechanical linkage system as defined in claim 4 wherein said link is pivotally connected to the rigid frame by a ball and socket joint and is free to move downwardly relative to the rigid frame as the upper lift arm is moved toward straight disposition.

6. A mechanical linkage system as defined in claim 1 wherein said mounting frame and plow form two parts of a 4-bar linkage and said upper and lower lift arms form the other parts thereof, with there being two laterally spaced lower lift arms, two cylinders define said power means, and one part of said upper lift arm being directly in line with the nose of the plow.

7. In a quick detachable mounting for a transportable ground working implement or snowplow, a supporting frame having a pair of vertically extending side plates with generally L-shaped corners mountable to a vehicle, a mounting frame having a pair of L-shaped corners to engage against the corners of the side plates movably attached to the implement, automatically interengaging hook means including spaced hook members at the top of said mounting frame which open downwardly to fit over said side plates and interengageable by downward movement of one frame relative to the other, power means for shifting one frame downwardly into engagement with the other after the frames are initially brought into alignment to interengage said hook means wth the weight of the snowplow swinging it to final position, and means at the bottom of the supporting frame including movable plungers for locking said frames together with said hook means interengaged.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,144,314 1/1939 Klauer 37-43 2,231,875 2/1941 Behnke et al 37-44 2,524,329 10/1950 Richardson 37-44 2,642,294 6/ 1953 Holm 37-44 2,694,267 10/1950 Donnelly et a1. 37-42 2,710,464 6/1955 Husting 37-42 2,722,066 11/1955 Wills et a1. 37-42 3,165,842 1/ 1965 Holopainen 37-43 WILLIAM B. PENN, Primary Examiner. EUGENE H. EICKHOLT, Assistant Examiner.

US. Cl. X.R 172-272, 307 

